A fork in the road
by Tamashiii
Summary: Shia has a few questions. Who is the strange ninja who is watching her? What should she do about the vicious fellow kunoichi who is jealous of her? And...Which path should she choose? The strange ninja's...Or her sweet brother's safe path?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one – A Maehara childhood

A small little girl sat crouched in the dead grass. In mid-autumn in the middle of a big forest. She wiped a pale hand across her equally pale face. Sobbing, she pulled up her shivering shoulders against the fierce, cold wind. The girl, who was around five, wore the expression of a frightened kitten. She had jet black hair, cascading down to her shoulder blades. It formed a strong contrast against her pale skin tone. She wiped her blue eyes. "R-Reenn...Onii-chaaan!" She quietly whispered. Where are you, Ren? I'm scared! Any other time or place, the girl would have loved a forest like this. But not now. Now it only seemed to hide enemies and corpses. Her bottom lip shivered. 'Kaa-san...Otou-san..Where did you go? In her childish memories, the little girl only saw the red-stained clothes of her father, before her mother pushed her behind her, and outside into the garden, bidding her to run. So she obeyed. She scrambled up again, her cut knees were bleeding.

She burst into another panicky spurt. Ren. Her hair flew wildly about her face, making her sight troubled with black strands passing. Ren! She gained another cut. Shia, paler than ever, reached the training grounds she was headed for. Ren!! She yelled in her head. Tears ran down, freshly wetting the salty streams down her face. "REEEEEN!!" She screamed.

--

A pale girl, aged ten scanned the crowd with her big blue eyes. Black hair fell onto her shoulders, down her back, past her shoulder blades. The crowd moved back and forth before her, her fellow students were being picked up by their family. Th girl sighed sadly. She jumped when a hand tapped her shoulder. "Ren! I thought I'd lost you."  
"Like I would leave without you, Shia-chan." A similarly pale boy who was perhaps two years older than herself patted her head. Running a hand through his jet black hair, he pointed at his sister. "Show it to me, then."

Smiling happily, Shia held up her newly acquired headprotector. It shone in the summer sun, unscratched and perfectly clean. "Hey, Ren! They-they asked me to do a bunshin, and, and, Ren, I'm really good at bunshin, so I passed really easily!" Shia's words tumbled out of her mouth, each one less articulate as she lost her breath.  
"Yup, I know. You have an aptitude for ninjutsu, Shia-chan." Ren smiled, pointing at his own protector. His already had scratches on it. "Just like your big brother. Now turn around, I'll tie it on you." Ren smiled his warm smile.

As his long fingers fumbled with the band, he whispered in her ear. "Mum and Dad would be very proud of you. Finishing so quickly...One year quicker than your brother. I knew you had talent." Ren's blue eyes went sad for a moment.  
Shia lowered her head slightly. "Thank you." She bit her bottom lip. "Ren...Was our family really that threatening?"  
"I've explained that to you before. The villagers were scared. Wouldn't you be, if you found out someone very close to you wasn't who he really is? Hidden ninja's, in a non-ninja village...You said you understood when I told you everything."

He urged Shia to turn around, and took her hands. "You look very nice, my little kunoichi." Shia headprotector shone around her neck. "Thank you, Ren!" She gave him a tight hug.  
"You know we should be very grateful this village took us in, Imouto-chan."


	2. Chapter 2

Soft shuffles through the streets. Blue sandals, pale calves. Shia was walking in a soft pace towards the forests just outside of Konoha. She had a calm look on her sharp face. Her long hair, tied up in a ponytail, fluttered out behind her.  
The grassy fields were very popular during spring. Families and lovers went there for picknicks, or just for a stroll.  
_"...so meet me there at two, allright?"  
_Ren had told her that. He was in love, he said. You've got to meet her, he said. Shia rolled her eyes to herself. How many times had he told her that? Ren, who was now seventeen, was quite the player. He had been with over ten different girls by now, most likely. More so, he kept introducing her to his friends. Who Shia did not like. At all.  
Shia had grown up to be a bit of a grumpy teenager. If someone criticised her, she easily snapped at them. She had grown a habit of smoking whenever tired or stressed.

The village did not like her very much. She was too "eerie". They had never liked her, but her childish manners had made up for it in the past. Now Shia was avoided, especially by the ninja's of her generation. The girls kept mocking her, for no apparent reason. Just because she was a bit more quiet than the others, perhaps.

"Shia!" Flinching when someone called her name, she jerked up her head, only to notice she had reached the fields already. A boy approached her. He was tall, very tall. His stubborn black hair stuck out like he had just got out of bed. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Hi, midget." Shia frowned at him. The girl was as short as Ren was tall, who often mocked her with the fact that she had to adjust all of her long pants. "Would you mind shutting up, bean sprout? Just take me to her."  
Ren smiled, his eyes narrowing a little bit to that lovely look of his. He put her arm around her, easily nudging her forward to a shady spot where a girl stood.

Shia swallowed. The girl looked pretty. Shia wasn't bad-looking, but she wasn't the prettiest being ever seen, either. The kunoichi sometimes wasn't very careful with her looks. Everything about her was average-looking, except for her long, fine hair which she was indeed very proud of.  
The girl had turned around, bursting into a gorgeous smile. "Ren!" She exclaimed in a soft, yet clear voice. Her curly brown hair embraced the sides of her round face gently. "You kept me waiting!"  
Her figure was very beautiful too. Overall, she was nearly impeccable. Her green eyes had that same smile's narrow to them, until she saw Shia. The girl's eyes went slightly cold. Yet she approached Shia all the same. "Hello. My name is Kiira. You must be Ren's sister." Something about her pause in the sentence and the way she pronounced 'sister' made the sentence drip with sarcasm. Shia shook her hand and regarded her coolly.  
Now that they were so close to each other, Shia could see that her smile wasn't as gorgeous as it had seemed. It was slightly crooked, slightly made of plastic. The girl released Kiira's hand quickly, and turned her attention back to ren, who had been chatting away. "...took me three more hours to finish it at last!" He burst into his sweet laughter. Shia quickly laughed along with him.

It didn't take long for her to realize that Kiira was in the same team as Ren, and that she utterly adored him. Shia sighed and consented that she would have to try and get along with her. She jerked back to earth when Ren held out some chopsticks to her. "Here you go, imouto-chan." He had brought a basket along with him. "I brought the picknick, as agreed!"  
"Oh, Ren...You really went for it again..." Shia observed, as the basket looked like it could burst every second now. As he unpacked things, Shia observed Kiira's face. She was astonished at Ren's cooking skills, but for some reason she looked like she had expected him to do this for her. She sighed and filled her bowl with Ren's vegetable rice and his grilled sausages. Halfway through, Kiira suddenly exclaimed. "Oh Ren, you're too good for m—" She shifted her eyes slowly towards The pale girl sitting against a tree. "...for us. Of course." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.  
Shia's fist closed tightly around her chopsticks. Her chest seemed to be pulsating with something she soon chalked up to jealousy. She dived into her food again, anything to ignore them kissing eachother on the mouth, anything, anything!  
"Ren." She said softly. "Did you bring any drinks?"  
"Oh...Damn! I knew I had forgotten something! I'll get us some, don't worry, Shia-chan." And so Ren went running off towards the village again.

Crap. That wasn't her intention, to be left alone with Kiira. Shia slapped her palm to her forehead behind Kiira's back, who was waving at Ren. She was still quietly damning herself when she heard that soft, clear voice again. "So...Shia, is it?"  
She looked through her fingers to find Kiira staring a green stare at her.  
"Yes. Why, Kiira-san?" Shia kept her voice polite, yet low.  
"Your brother...He's very nice. He's your only family, isn't he?" Again, that plastic smile. Shia said nothing, but put down her bowl in the grass, only to be doing something. Her green eyes were piercing to her core.  
"So...Has to be tough losing him, right?"  
Shia's fingers stopped fiddling with the grass. The clenched tightly into the soft earth beneath it. "I'm not losing my onii-chan to anything."  
"Oh, but you are, Shia." Kiira leaned up close to her and smirked, her head tilted to one side. "He's mine now. He used to be talking about 'Shia-chan' constantly. Shia-chan, Shia-chan. His heart belonged to you. Who has be been talking about now, you guess? Hm?" She played with a curly strand of hair. "Kiira-chan. Kiira. He loves me, Shia. He doesn't like you, a small lost freak's child anymore."

Shia's eyes widened. She bit her bottom lip and spoke through her teeth. "Ren arrived here together with me. He's the same as me. He loves me." With every breath she took, she felt her heart racing in her throat. Doubt gnawed at her. She could be right. Kiira was prettier, more popular. She seemed to take good care of him. Yet still, a small piece of certainty remained. Ren promised he'd take care of her. He promised.

"Ren was old enough to take care of himself. You can't even cook a simple meal. Ren has to do it for you. He's sick of it, Shia. Ren-chan told me that himself. You're a burden he has to drag along." With every word, anger flared through Shia's body. From the pit of her stomach, to the tips of her fingers. It was throbbing in her chest. She stumbled up, shaking with hate.  
"Just who...do you think you are?"  
"I'll tell you. I'm Ren's important person. I hold his heart." Kiira had gotten up gracefully, and calmly.  
"Well, I'm off to tell my sweetie to come with me. See you, little pathetic girl." Kiira turned around and started walking the same road Ren had been running on three minutes ago.

Red-hot fury was seeping through her bones, into her blood where it ran at a high speed to her legs and arms before it reached her mind to even consider.  
"You do not hold Ren's heart, only I do!!" She shrieked with a pitch-high voice. It rang across the plains, startling other couples and families. The fury blinded her, and suddenly she found herself in the air, leaping at Kiira. She landed on top of Kiira, who had half turned around. They dropped onto the ground with a hard thud. Shia lay on top of her, griiting her teeth, and through her wild fury began tugging at Kiira's pretty hair.

Shia was, unlike Kiira, a brawler type. She battled in close-range, and had a rock-hard physique. Kiira was a medium-range genjutsu user, but her part in the fight was not bad at all. After all, Kiira was taller and older than Shia, and was not blinded by rage.  
Kiira grabbed a hold of Shia's fringe, tugging it towards her. Then, suddenly, she jerked up her elbow, hitting Shia in the throat. The pale girl gagged, losing her grip on Kiira's head, who took every chance she got. Immediately, Kiira was crouching over Shia, hitting her in the face once, twice, three times. Her punches weren't powerful, but powerful enough to dizzy Shia. The punches seemed to wake her from her anger. She blocked Kiira's next punch, and held Kiira's body off hers using her shin. She bended her leg and pressed her shin against Kiira's upper body.

Kiira jerked herself up, thinking Shia would punch back, and concentrated fully on the short girl's clenched fists. The attack came from a completely different angle though. Kiira felt a hot white pain spread through her chin, her mouth and her teeth. She fell back, shrieking and clenching her mouth. Blood ran through her fingers, dripping onto her neck and arms. The girl looked up, her eyes filling with tears. Shia was leaning on her elbows, her leg outstretched into the air. The black-haired girl had hit her straight in the mouth, with her powerful kick.

Shia's face was swollen and blue where Kiira had struck her, and she was bleeding from her nose. She had a triumphant grin on her face. The kunoichi was panting.  
"Shia..? Kiira?" The otherwise so cheerful and warm voice sounded small and shocked. Shia's smile faded from her face. How much had Ren seen?  
He was holding three cans of soda. Kiira stood up. "Ren! You-your little sister! She just attacked me! Look what she did to me, Ren, sweetie!" Kiira's voice was shaking, but there was no hurt in it. Just pain. Ren dropped the cans, closing Kiira in his arms.  
He looked at Shia, accusing and cold.

"What...did you do Shia? Why did you do that?" Ren's voice was cold as stone. Shia sat on her knees. "R-Ren...She provo—"  
"I don't want to hear an explanation." Ren interrupted her. "You let me down, you didn't even try to like her. I don't want to see you right now, Shia." He looked away from her, into the plains. Hurt was in his blue eyes.

"Ren..kun..." Shia whispered softly.  
Next to Ren, Kiira smiled her plastic smile, her blood-coloured teeth crooked and askew.


	3. Chapter 3

Running footsteps broke the dark forest's peace. Footprints in the mud, making tracks, fast, faster!  
_"I'm not going back. Not there. Not to him nor to her."  
_Shia clenched her painful cheekbone. It wasn't swollen anymore, but it was a dark shade of blue by now. Half an hour had passed since the fight with Kiira, Ren's rejection towards her, and Shia fleeing into the surrounding woods. Thoughts trickled in and out of her head. Even Ren didn't like her anymore. It was all her own fault. No wait, was it even her own fault? It was Kiira, Kiira who provoked her into attacking her. But, then again, she gave in to her pestering. No good shinobi ever does that. Ever. Which made her a bad shinobi. Making it, again, her own fault.  
"Aaarrrrggghh." Shia groaned to herself, stopping dead. The trees towered far above her, blocking out the nice weather. She hadn't been this close to crying since she saw her old house. Burned down, all her old toys, gone. No sign of her Mum or Dad, even.  
_"I will have to go back there. If not to set things right, at least to get some sleep." _Shia's thoughts leapt from one opposite to the other. She was too upset to think properly.

Suddenly, a rustle of a heavy cloak sounded. "Gwehhh!" Shia yelled. Damn it. She hadn't been paying attention at all. Was she a chuunin or not?! _"You stupid uselss ninja!" _Shia menaced herself.  
A person had appeared before her. A girl, probably around twenty-something years old. She was even shorter than Shia, which was a pretty rare sight. The girl was beautiful, could have been beautiful, more like, if she hadn't had two scars running down her cheeks. Her hair was black, yet the tips of it were as white as hair could possibly get. Her cloak was black, with red Japanese-style clouds painted on it. Shia recognized the cloak, but couldn't quite put her finger on it where she had seen it before. Shia's eyes wandered up and down, and then, they locked onto her eyes. They were icey blue, incredibly intimidating. A shiver ran down her back. No matter how small or handsome she may be, the girl creeped her out. Then again, she looked harmless. If she wanted to, the girl could've killed her ages ago.

A slender hand shot out of the cloak's sleeve, and grabbed hold of Shia's chin. It had the kanji for _Truth _tattooed on it. She pulled Shia's pale face towards hers. "Hey! Wha-what are you-"  
"Shut up."  
Shia felt too scared to disobey her. The girl was inspecting her bruises. "You're a fast healer...Did you know?" The girl pushed back Shia's face. Rubbing her jaw, Shia took in the girl again. Her voice sounded like the chime of bells. Her own voice, on the other hand, was a bit low for a female.  
_"She's obviously superior to me in every way." _  
"What are you trying to do to me? Who are you?!" Shia finally had found her old courage.

The girl smirked at her. "First things first, girl. I am trying to judge you. Secondly, I will not tell you my name just yet. I might give you a hint later on. Now tell me- You are not very liked by your village, are you not?"  
Shia's eyes widened. "I...ermmm...No, not really."  
"And do you dislike them?"  
"Why are you asking me this?"  
"Just answer the question." Again that intimidating look. Shia swallowed hard.  
"No, I don't."  
The girl smiled at her. It would've been kind, but her icy blue eyes were still locked onto Shia's. They didn't smile along.

"Good." The girl jumped backwards, turned around and jumped into the trees. Shia tried to look up, attempted to follow her, but it was impossible. The sun shone directly into her eyes, it had gotten late. Secondly, the Girl's voice chimed again. "Don't follow me. I will kill you if you do. I, on the other hand, will be watching you." Shia could only see her outlines against the sun. She saw the girl lifting a hand and slowly waving at her. "Bye-bye...Shia-chan...By the way...Here's your hint: Konoha's Fallen Angel." Then, with amazing speed, the Girl disappeared.

Shia sunk down onto the ground. Her heart was racing. Internally, her mind was about to explode.

--

The wooden door opened softly. The familiar _creeee _of it sounded through the house. A soft "I'm back" sounded. Shia peeked around the door, ashamed to face Ren. He was sitting on his knees at the low table. He didn't look back at her. Dinner was stowed on the kitchen table, in pots. It was still warm, so Shia filled her own bowls with some.  
She quietly crossed the room on her bare feet, clutching a heavy book underneath her arms. She stole a look at Ren. He was studying a scroll with the most important jutsu for chuunin, as he was taking his Jounin exam the next day. He still didn't look at her.  
Sighing quietly, Shia crept into her room. The floor was stowed with scrolls, in an attempt to a neat pile that exploded after needing a bottom scroll. There were some clothes, and a pair of shoes on the floor too. Her bed was neatly made, though. Ren must've done it for her that morning, when he wasn't upset yet.  
Shia sat down at her wooden desk. She lit a lamp, and let the book drop onto the desktop with a heavy thud.  
_Bingo Book: Konoha  
_The elegant gold letters spread across the old cover.  
Shia opened it carefully. It smelled of dust and not being used. She frowned as she skipped to the last bit of the book, to the register. The writing was small, very small. The page count ran up to 1000 and more. It described all ninja's of all villages known to Konoha. Even some talented Genin were listed in it, on the few white pages along the yellow ones. Lighting a cigarette, Shia paused for two seconds. Yes, she definitely had to do it. That way she would know who she was up against at least. Yes, go.  
She ran a pale finger along the alphabet. Where should she start to look? No name; Maybe she needed to check the used words register. She quickly flipped further.  
_"...Konoha's Fallen Angel."  
_The words still rang through her head, the girl still before her mind's eye. "A..." She whispered to herself. "A...Angel."  
_Angel ................. p.134-138  
, Destructive....p.135-136  
, Fallen............p. 137-138  
"Aha...Got it." _Excitement built in Shia's chest. A missing nin who was interested in her...Who could it be?  
She flicked through the pages.  
A picture of the girl appeared, the rims were torn. It was her allright, although her scars had disappeared, and her hair was slightly longer. She definitely was beautiful. Shia slowly exhaled the smoke. It swirled above her head.  
_Tenshi Atarashi – 17 when last seen  
Member of Akatsuki_

Of course, that explained the cloak. Those clouds were signature symbols of Akatsuki, which also explained the name origin. Aka Tsuki...Of course. Shia skipped quickly across her physical description.__

Known Abilities: Fire- and Earth-type ninjutsu. Possesses powerful Genjutsu, though unknown which specific type. Most apt skill is her poison-making and curing  
Bloodline: Possibly poison. Ninja's have been found who had died of an inexplainable cause, seeming natural, yet molecular spores of poison have been found. Nobody can explain how.

Shia closed her eyes, supporting her forehead with her right hand. She took a deep drag of her cigarette with her left hand. So this ninja was inexplainably powerful. Her hopes had already shrunk to the size of a walnut, which was sinking to the pit of her stomach. They had one thing in common: Fire and Earth-type moves. Her own Doton jutsu were still fragile and weak. Also, she was called Tenshi. The name suited her...somehow. She untied her hair, letting if fall across her back and over her shoulders, and forced herself to read on.

_Known Weakness: Does not seem to use any Taijutsu, and seems to prefer long-distance fights._

Conclusion: Do not approach by yourself. S-rank missing in, if not of a higher rank.

Aha, at least there was a bright side. Shia's Taijutsu was above average. Also, her bloodline, Tekken, provided her with a certain resistance against Katon moves. Shia closed the book with a loud thud, pushed back her chair and opened her balcony door. She let the room air, and went outside.  
Tekken had awakened within her when she was eleven years old. It was a certain bloodline that made it possible for the user to gather their Chakra at a constant speed in their fists, without draining themselves quickly. Since her Chakra nature was fire, it resulted in her fists emitting fire, causing burns whenever she punched. It also widened her strike range. Sometimes a small explosion even appeared in her case.

Ren's was similar, though the difference was that he possessed Lightning type Chakra. His arms were charged with electricity, which he could charge up and release at will. His lightning would strike an enemy from a distance, often causing paralysis. It went really well with his second nature, Suiton. His water moves allowed the electricity to travel larger distances towards the enemy. That was about their biggest differences: battle style. Shia's and Ren's natures were completely opposite. Shia had inherited her father's temper, Fire and Earth chakra and brawling, close-range battling technique. Ren had inherited his mother's calm nature, Water and Lightning Chakra, and her long- and medium-distance fighting.

Shia was staring down onto the dark roofs. The carved rock with the Kage's heads was just visible. A cold wind picked up her hair.  
_"...I'll be watching you."_  
Shia shivered; she felt stalked. The kunoichi went back inside, and changed into her pyjamas. While getting under her covers, she peeked through the gap in the curtains. Maybe she was watching her now. Shivering, she hid her head under the covers. Suddenly, she heard again that rustle of a heavy cloak. Jumping out of bed, she yanked open the curtains. Nobody was there. After checking outside, she went back to bed. Great, she was getting paranoid too. Shia clenched shut her eyes, and pulled her pillow over her head, trying to get some sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

When Shia sat up in her covers the next morning, she had reached a decision. She was going to have to confide into someone, or crack under paranoia. She had just the person in her mind. So she picked up the phone, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and listened to the dial tone while drawing open her curtains. It was a lovely day, at least she had that. "Hello?" Kin's voice sounded clear and happy, as usual. "Hi, Kin-chan. It's me."  
Kin was about the only person in the village who wasn't suspicious of Shia. The girl was even not unlike Shia herself.  
"Oh, hi! What's up?"  
"Would you like to meet up for baths?"  
"Umm, sure! In half an hour then?"  
"Sure. Thanks! See you then!"  
"Bye!"  
With a _click _the phone disconnected. Shia put it down and searched for some clothes. Buckling her belt, she stepped out of her room and towards the mirror in the hall. She tied up her hair in a bun so it wouldn't get wet in the hot spring's water. At that point, Ren stepped out of his own room. He passed her, again without a word.  
Shia stepped into the living room. Ren seemed to be searching for something. He was muttering things under his breath, obviously not noticing Shia was there. Shia looked around, suddenly noticing his kunai pouch stuffed behind the couch. Typical. She pulled it loose. "Ren-kun."  
Ren startled, looking up at her. "Were you looking for this?" She held up the pouch.  
"Yes." He answered her, at least. "Thanks." He took it from her and strapped it to his thigh. Then, she turned and made for the door.  
"Ren."  
He didn't turn around, but he stopped. He was listening to her.  
"I'm sorry. And...good luck with the exam."  
Ren turned, and smiled at her. His usual warm smile. "Thank you."  
The door fell shut.  
Shia felt incredibly light all of a sudden. He seemed to have somewhat forgiven her. Yes, yes, yes!

When she reached the hot springs, some people were there, but no Kin. She scanned the crowd again, and then went inside.  
Shia said a few words to the receptionist. The boy gave her a key and Shia walked through to the ladies' dressing room. Taking a large and a small towel, she sat down on a little bench against the wall. A few other women were there. A couple of teenage girls who were happily twittering against one another, a serene old lady and a woman who was probably on her way to work.  
Shia eyed them from the corner of her eye, stood up again and turned to face the wall. She took off her top and dropped it messily on the bench. Kicking off her shoes, she re-adjusted her hair. At that point, a tanned girl with blond hair stepped into the changing room. "Oh, Shia! There you are."  
"Hi, Kin. I thought you might had gone inside already."  
Kin smiled at Shia, a cute, goofy grin. Kin was a few years older than Shia was, 19. She had recently opened a little shop, in which Kin sold handmade dolls. Kin was no shinobi, so Shia could tell her everything and anything to do with it without putting a danger to herself. Kin wasn't one to gossip.  
Her tan came from the fact that she was usually seated in front of her shop, making little doll dresses and limbs and painting red lips on small white faces. Her hair was a peculiar colour, it was blond, but when the sun hit it, a hint of red mixed with it. Shia loved Kin's hair, and the other way around.

"So what's the big news?"  
"Not here, it's too quiet. I'll tell you in a bit."  
Kin started to undress, too. Shia tied her towel around her body, and gathered up her clothes. She locked them away safely and tied her key to her wrist.  
As they both entered the hot springs, a sweet scent came to greet them. The owners had recently taken a liking to perfuming the water.  
Shia hung her towel over a wooden bench and stepped into the water. Kin joined her and sat opposite to her.  
"Okay, tell me."  
Shia took a deep breath and started to tell everything.

"And what exactly does she want from you?"  
Shia splashed some water into her face. Soap ran down her face and chest, down her hands and arms into the gutter beneath her feet."I'm not sure yet. I think I'm going into the woods again today or tomorrow if I don't get a mission."  
"Oh, Shia...Be careful." Shia looked up to gaze into Kin's warm brown eyes. She had never heard her so concerned.  
"Of course I will, Kin. Don't worry, okay?" Kin nodded slowly. Her eyes were still shining with concern.  
"Turn around, I'll wash your back." Shia took the slippery bar of soap into her pale hands.  
Kin obeyed and held up her hair for it to be out if Shia's way.

The next day, Shia and Kin were walking down the busy, shop-filled roads. Playing boys and girls were running past them, parents were telling them to calm down. Elderly people were seated in front of their houses tutting at the little rascals. Shia was carrying a shopping bag stowed with ingredients for Ren to prepare.  
"...It'll be a great project! So you want to help me out?"  
"Wow, Kin...Another doll series...You're progressing fast. Sure, I'll help. What do you want me to do?"  
"Colour in the outlines I draw on them. It'll be perfect, Shia! All sorts of jobs, all in one series! Imagine a child giving it to their parent for Mother's Day! Or a parent giving one in the shape of their son or daughter's dream job!"  
Shia smiled at Kin's fantasizing. She was so carefree and really creative.  
Suddenly, a boy with a new head protector came running down the street. "Hey, isn't that one of the new Genin?" Kin said to Shia. Shia nodded in response.  
"Maehara-san?" The boy halted right before Shia.  
"Yes? What is it?"  
"You've got a mission. I'm sorry, I got lost on my way here, your team will be waiting for you at the gates by now. They'll explain the details to you...Ma'am." The boy suddenly recalled his manners.  
"No need to call me that. Thanks, kid." Shia replied. She turned to Kin. "Kin...Would yo—"  
"Yeah, of course!" Kin had already taken the bag from Shia. "Spare key in the outer left plant, I know! I even know where everything goes, I'll do that for you!"  
"You're a sweetheart, Kin. I don't know what I'd do without you!" Shia turned and started to run towards the gates.  
"Stupid things!" She heard Kin call after her. Shia laughed quietly and jumped up onto the roofs to avoid being held up by the shopping people. A few kids pointed up, one exclaimed quietly.  
The green Konoha gates became visible. Shia squinted, spotting three people standing there.  
When she landed in front of them, she recognized them all.  
Kiira was looking coldly over her shoulder. Another shinobi named Kenta raised an eyebrow at her. Then, their leading Jounin. Ren.  
"Hi, Shia." He smiled at her. Yesterday he had rushed into the house, picking her up from the couch, yelling he had passed the exam.  
Kiira hadn't. Shia had quietly rejoiced in this when Ren hadn't been looking.  
"So, Shia, here's the mission: An unknown female ninja has been spotted in our woodlands. She's wearing an Akatsuki cloak. So it's our task to gather information. We only fight when we have no other possible option. Here's the set-up. You will go first, then me. Then Kenta and then Kiira will close the row. Allright?"  
Shia nodded proudly. Ren had completely thought this through: Shia was a person who could easily clear the way for others. She and Ren were a perfect cooperating team, filling eachother weaks. Kenta was a long-distance Fuiton user. Kiira, being a genjutsu user, remained safely behind.  
The only downside was that Tenshi had been spotted. Shia wanted to get to know her better before Tenshi had to leave again. She wanted to find out more. Maybe she would be able to catch her by herself.

Shia took in her place. Ren looked at all three of them. "Ready? Ok, let's go."  
Shia began to run, leaving her arms trailing behind her. Kiira had not spoken a single word. She was probably sulking because Ren had somewhat forgiven her. Or because she didn't pass. Shia grinned again, taking the team into the forest.


End file.
